Canadian authorities identify hockey players who died in collision

Ten players and five staff members from the Humboldt Broncos were among the dead.

Photos of people involved in Saturday's fatal bus crash on display Sunday before a vigil at Elgar Petersen Arena, home of the Humboldt Broncos, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan.Jonathan Hayward / The Canadian Press via AP

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In a statement, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Saskatchewan's chief coroner said the victims included 10 players from the Humboldt Broncos and five team personnel, including head coach and general manager Darcy Haugan, 42:

Adam Herold, 16

Connor Lukan, 21

Evan Thomas, 18

Jacob Leicht, 19

Jaxon Joseph, 20

Logan Boulet, 21

Logan Hunter, 18

Logan Schatz, 20

Stephen Wack, 21

Xavier Labelle, 18

Brody Hinz, 18

Glen Doerksen, 59

Mark Cross, 27

Tyler Bieber, 29

The players and staff were from the provinces of Alberta or Saskatchewan, in Western Canada. The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League team had been on its way to a game in the town of Nipawin when the collision occurred at around 5 p.m. on Friday (7 p.m. ET).

It wasn't clear what caused the collision. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said Saturday that the Mounties were investigating, while the country's highway ministry was examining the intersection where the collision occurred with an eye toward safety recommendations.

A man looks at photographs before a vigil Sunday at Elgar Petersen Arena, home of the Humboldt Broncos, to honor the victims of a fatal bus accident in Humboldt, Saskatchewan. Jonathan Hayward / Pool via AFP - Getty Images

With vigils planned and National Hockey League players sporting "Broncos" decals and jerseys, some friends and relatives remembered the players and staff members.

"A ferocious competitor" is how Russ Herrington remembered Mark Cross, the Broncos' assistant coach, whom Herrington once coached on a university hockey team.

"There was no one in the room that commanded more respect than Mark," Herrington said in a statement. "Mark was in his element in the hockey arena and I could think of no better mentor for junior hockey players to have than Mark Cross."

Isaac Labelle, brother of Xavier Labelle, described his younger sibling as an amazing pianist and an intellectually gifted athlete who was to have graduated from high school in the spring.

"No one can seem to comprehend the reasons why this is happening," he said in an interview.

Moe, meanwhile, put it this way:

"On that bus were young men — vibrant, smart, talented young men with everything to look forward to," he said. "In these boys, we see teammates. We see classmates. We see friends, we see brothers, sons and grandsons."